Similar to Allentown’s Neighborhood Improvement Zone, the zone allows state and local nonproperty taxes from new development in the zone to help finance construction within it.

Bethlehem already has developers for some smaller projects interested in moving forward but officials have had to tell them they’re not ready yet, said Alicia Karner, Bethlehem’s community and economic development director who also was named the authority’s executive director today.

The state designation didn’t provide the authority any funding besides for an auditor so it can’t afford to hire any staff of its own yet, Chairman James Broughal said. The city should have money for more staff once some projects start and additional building permit fees and property taxes are collected, member Joe Kelly said.

The authority today also hired Malvern, Pa., lawyer Valentino DiGiorgio to serve as its solicitor and Philadelphia firm Eckert Seamans as special counsel. The attorneys have agreed to wait to be paid until construction financing is sought, Karner said. The authority intends to charge financing and application fees to pay the consultants’ expenses, she said.

The authority also is seeking a financial adviser and a compliance adviser, both of which members hope to have in place in April, Karner said.

Expected construction within the zone’s first year includes a Bass Pro Shops, hotel and convention center on the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. site and new industrial and manufacturing space at Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII, officials have said.